My name is Misha too. I live in the Uk, I am feminine! And I think it was rude of you to comment, this name on a girl makes me want to barf! Because I wear my name in pride and not even your comments will change that, so I don't mean to be rude but please don't comment that again! There are people with feelings out there too, you know! And my mother gave me the name, it was very judgmental to say mean things about it! And my mother can choose what she likes, and it suits me really well.

Mishalansberry you need some thicker skin. I personally like the name, although only on girls, it's ridiculous for guys. But just because some random person on the internet that you don't even know said they don't like it is no reason to get all bent out of shape. I hate to break it to you, but I'm sure there's plenty of others out there that don't like your name either. Or my name or any other for that matter.

It bothers me when writers don't get names right.Thomas Harris named Hannibal Lecter's sister Mischa, and the family is supposed to be Lithuanian. It is slightly different spelling than Misha, and in some countries they spelled it Misja, but still. I've asked Russian friends and they all say that Misha is never ever used for girls. Couldn't Harris have looked into that?

-- Anonymous User 1/10/2007

Madison and Ashley and hundreds of English male names are constantly being used for girls, so whose to say Misha isn't becoming a trendy girls name in Russia? You never know.

-- Anonymous User 1/20/2007

I always thought this name was a girl name. Guess I was wrong.

-- Anonymous User 1/23/2007

I live in a area full of Russians, I've learnt it isn't a girls name. In my school (which is very good making it big) they're 4 Russian boys with this name and 1 girl but she's Anglo-Australian (I live in Melbourne.)

Misha is only a masculine name in Russia, so how can 57% of the public ever think that it is a feminine name? If some poor girl will say there: "Hi, I'm Misha", most of people will think they heard wrong. Or simply that they've met a great joker.

Until this year I HATED this name, but one of my new friends is named Mesha (slightly different spelling) and she's a really nice person. It's weird how your opinion of a name can change based on one specific person with that name.

In a story I'm writing one of the characters is named Misha, but is a girl. I never thought Misha was a boy's name and never as a nickname for Michael. (I've only known boys with the name Michael to call themselves Moe or Mike.) I think it makes a better girl's name.

I love this name! It's by far my favorite masculine name. If I ever had a baby boy, I would totally give him this name. It sounds really strong. Too strong to be a girls name, I think. Actually, it would sound kinda ghetto on a girl :^\

I really like this name, especially for a boy. On a girl, it's okay, but kind of "Hollywood" because of Mischa Barton.

-- Anonymous User 6/26/2008

Micha Bergese is an actor best known for his role as the Huntsman in the film "The Company of Wolves". I love this name, though I prefer it spelled Mischa, and I also like it more for a boy than a girl.

Listen you people (especially you "penneyperson"). Misha is a Russian, masculine name which is short for Mikhail (Michael). It doesn't matter how "feminine" your ignorant anglophone ear thinks this name sounds, Misha is a masculine name. Calling a girl Misha would be like calling her Mike or Michael. She'd endure torture if she ever went to Russia, because this is a STRICTLY MASCULINE NAME, and always has been. If you want to choose a Russian name, then you should respect the language and culture, and not use Misha on a girl.

Only dumb Americans or English speakers would ever consider this name for a girl. It's a strictly masculine name all over Eastern Europe.

-- Anonymous User 12/5/2009

I don't understand how Anglophones in Anglophone communities can claim that "this is SO a girl's name" when it's not of their own language or culture! How rude do you have to be to try to discredit an entire ethnicity's traditions? Misha is a Russian nickname for a boy named Mikhail. Deal with it.

First of all, this name is misspelled. Its M-I-S-C-H-A.Second, this name is actually unisex in some parts of world such as the US (where I live), I love it for a little girl, although I don't think I could ever use it thanks to Thomas Haris (author of the Hannibal Lector series).

Actually it can be spelled Misha or Mischa... not just Mischa.The only reason it's "Unisex" in the U.S.A is because of their ignorance and lack of respect for other country's names.The use of the name on girls is disgusting.

-- Anonymous User 11/30/2011

Mischa Barton is an American actress.

-- Anonymous User 12/12/2011

This name may be used only for males in Russia and other European countries, but I think it's acceptable to use it as a girl's name in US and perhaps other countries. I personally like it for both males and females. To say it's disgusting, disrespectful, or wrong isn't very nice and it's judgemental. To be so possessive over a name is ridiculous. People use names for their children that they like, not to be disrespectful of a country or culture. This is the problem with the world today. We view ourselves as so separate and having boundries, while we really are all connected. If more people thought of the world as one and all citizens of this earth a part of the human race, instead of specific races and nationalities, this world would be a lot better place.

Only angry, jealous euro-Russians would feel offended and confused by anyone using Mischa as a girls name. The rest of the world doesn't care about name vs gender. Most russians are immigrants of some sort themselves, that country is littered with mixed cultures, so they're really, really confused. Use whatever inspires you. That is how modern intelligent progressive cultures operate.

See (and some of you Russians might kill me for this, but) I can see this name on a girl. But at the same time, I can also see the name Mike on a girl. I am not really strict about masculine and feminine names. Especially because many boy names become girl names.Though Michael and Mikhail on a girl is pushing it, even for me. I suppose it's less masculine because it's a diminutive?

"Misha" is derived from the "mi" in "Mikhail." Many Russian diminutives are created by taking a part of the given name and adding "sha" to it. Well-known examples include "Natasha," taken from "Natalya" (nata+sha), or "Sasha," taken from either "Aleksandr" or "Aleksandra" (sa+sha), though in the case of Sasha, it is more commonly used on males, despite being a unisex name.

The alternate spellings of "Mischa" and "Micha" seem to have originated from France and Germany. In French, "ch" makes the "shh" sound, therefore, "cha" is pronounced "shah." In German, it is practically the same way, only it also includes the "s" to make the "shh" sound out of "sch." Think of Schumann, the composer, as an example of this, whose name is pronounced "SHOO-mahn."

Misha (and its variant spellings) used on females came from anglophone countries, whose ears interpret most names with "a" at the end to be strictly feminine, regardless of ethnic background or meaning.

The origin of Misha is strictly masculine, as it was a nickname created from a masculine name ("Mikhail," a.k.a., "Michael"). I have seen "Mike" and "Mikey" used on girls as nicknames for "Michaelina" (and its variant spellings), "Michelle" (and its variant spellings), and "Michaela" (and its variant spellings). Coming from someone born and raised in the United States, I can honestly say that using "Mike" and "Mikey" on females sounds extremely odd. I can imagine that it also sounds strange to most of Europe to hear their ethnic variant of "Mike" and "Mikey" used on females.

-- Anonymous User 7/31/2013

"Mishka" (meaning "teddy bear" in Russian) can be used as a pet form of this name.

-- Anonymous User 11/10/2013

Surprised no one has mentioned this yet, but Misha Collins is an actor who plays the angel "Castiel" in the show Supernatural and also appeared on a Charmed episode titled "They're Everywhere" portraying as a volunteer called Eric who happened to know Phoebe Halliwell.

He is the only person I currently know about who bears this name, and I think he bears it well. So whatever gender this name belongs to, perhaps it's most important if the child can grow into adulthood without wanting to legally change it the moment he or she turns of age. They don't stay babies forever, in a way, you're naming an adult.

I'm not Russian and names ending in -a are feminine in my language too. But I've always thought that Misha, Nikita and Sasha were veeeery masculine. I cannot even imagine a girl called Misha. Don't know why it's so, but it's definitely a boy's name.

If you seriously believe this name is feminine, I think you need to rethink your life choices. Misha sounds extremely masculine, why do Americans, or English speaking countries in general believe everything should be changed to fit them. Stop trying to be unique by torturing a girl with this name.

The usage of names underlies changes and ensures that new / modern names are created. Regardless if a Russian origin of Mischa is masculine and the nickname of Mikhail / Michael, why can Mischa not be a modern unisex name? BTW, there are also a lot of Arabic and Hebrew variants like Miesha or Myiesha. All of them are female names. I fell in love with the sound of Mischa and its spelling right away. It's a great unisex name and a beautiful one for women.

My name is Mischa. I am female and I wear this name with great pride. I live in the USA. Comments that my name is disgusting, wrong, make you want to barf, dumb, etc. are incredibly insulting. My mother was not a "dumb American" to name me this. She was a very forward thinking lady who saw the beauty in my name. I love it. It is is a very strong, exotic, beautiful name for either sex.If you don't like my name, just say you don't and why. It's not necessary to hurl slurs at my name, my nationality or my family. That is just juvenile.

Hahaha, I'm curious to see how many Americans think the name Misha is a girls name or even unisex for that matter. If you wish to use the name go ahead, but for a boy for god sakes. You name your daughter this and you'll only be giving her a man's name. Better hope she doesn't ever leave the country.

-- Anonymous User 5/18/2015

NEWS ALERT! Misha is also an Arab name that means beautiful/pretty. Why not research something before showing off your lack of cultural IQ. I love it when people are sarcastic about a subject as if they have knowledge but really don't.? Then again maybe that's why some people use "anonymous" as a user name.

I have heard this name in passing a number of times and I guess I initially thought it to be unisex. However, I have since started learning the Russian language and learnt it was a Russian name. Strangely enough, that changed my view of it towards 'feminine' because I learnt that Russian nouns ending in -a or -я (-ya/-ia/-ja). I did not realise that this was not the case when it came to names (in particular, the diminutive forms of names). I do understand the true usage of the name in Russian culture, and will not make female characters with this name (I am an author). It does not mean, however, that this name is not considered 'feminine' in other cultures, and I also respect this. I think it is always important to consider all parties involved in situations like this))